Why the #MeToo Moment Should Be Ready for a Backlash
"After Weinstein: 40 Men Accused of Sexual Misconduct and Their Fall From Power"
This in no way should be seen as a wobbling on the principle and value of the #MeToo movement, just more a note that awareness of the danger of an authoritarian Soviet-type of overreach should be in concerned minds too.
As a much-needed reckoning happens in the workplace, look to college campuses for a note of caution.
By EMILY YOFFE
December 10, 2017
In the final five years of his presidency, Barack Obama’s administration undertook a worthy and bold challenge: the elimination of sexual assault on campuses. In fact, Obama’s team had a much more ambitious goal in mind. Vice President Joe Biden, the point person for the campus initiative, said at the end of his term that the administration was seeking “to fundamentally change the culture around sexual assault”—everywhere. New rules of sexual engagement between college students were written at the directive of the administration, but top Obama officials said they wanted these to be applied in the workplace and beyond. “You’re going to change the workplaces you work in,” Tina Tchen, director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, said at a 2016 event honoring campus sexual assault activists. “You’re going to raise your sons and daughters differently.”
They expected this transformation to take years. But with the daily toppling of powerful men who have committed sexual violations in Hollywood, the media, Congress and more, these changes have become seismic. The silenced have been given voice, and their testimony has resulted in the swift professional demise of perpetrators. Shocking descriptions of the behavior of powerful men have shown that it’s not universally understood that it’s unacceptable to display one’s genitals at work or to sexually abuse colleagues.
We now have an opportunity for profound reform, for women and men to join together to treat each other with dignity and respect. But as this unexpected revolution unfolds, we should also keep in mind the dangers of creating new injustices in the service of correcting old ones.
For that, it’s useful to look at how reforms played out on campus, where, unfortunately, many of the Obama administration’s good intentions went awry.
Credit to the Obama administration for a a worthy objective, while a reasonable and fair note of caution about the situation today is warranted too.
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The Uncomfortable Truth About Campus Rape Policy
At many schools, the rules intended to protect victims of sexual assault mean students have lost their right to due process—and an accusation of wrongdoing can derail a person’s entire college education.
'Age of empowerment,' accusers hail Weinstein convictions
"After Weinstein: 40 Men Accused of Sexual Misconduct and Their Fall From Power"
Issued on: 24/02/2020 - 23:08Modified: 24/02/2020 - 23:07
New York (AFP)
Harvey Weinstein was convicted on Monday of sexual assault and rape, more than two years after allegations of the disgraced movie mogul's sexual misconduct sparked the global #MeToo movement.
The 67-year-old was acquitted of the most serious charge of predatory sexual assault but faces a lengthy jail term.
The guilty verdicts were hailed as a landmark moment for the #MeToo movement, with accusers, activists and attorneys lining up to congratulate prosecutors.
Here is the best of the reactions:
- 'Collective healing' -
Actress Ashley Judd, one of the first Weinstein accusers to go public with her allegations, thanked the six women who told the high-profile trial that the ex-Hollywood titan had sexually assaulted them.
"For the women who testified in this case, and walked through traumatic hell, you did a public service to girls and women everywhere, thank you. #ConvictWeinstein #Guilty," she wrote on Twitter.
Actress Ellen Barkin simply named them.
"Right now Harvey Weinstein is on his way to prison. These are the women who put him away... Mimi Haleyi, Jessica Mann, Annabella Sciorra, Dawn Dunning, Lauren Young, Tarale Wulff," she tweeted.
High-profile accuser Rose McGowan tweeted: "Today is a powerful day & a huge step forward in our collective healing."
Italian actress and director Asia Argento, who told the New Yorker magazine that Weinstein raped her in 1997, posted a photo of herself and another woman on Instagram.
"Harvey Weinstein is now a convicted rapist. Two survivors cry and celebrate. Thank you God," she wrote alongside it.
Actress Rosanna Arquette paid tribute on Twitter to "the brave women who've testified and to the jury for seeing through the dirty tactics of the defense."
Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement, said in a statement: "The implications reverberate far beyond Hollywood and into the daily lives of all of us in the rest of the world."
- Sciorra lament -
Gloria Allred, attorney for Sciorra and Haleyi, told reporters outside court that, "It's no longer business as usual in the United States."
"This is the age of empowerment of women, and you cannot intimidate them anymore, because women will not be silenced," she said.
"They will speak up, they will have their voice, they will stand up and be subjected to your small army of defense attorneys cross-examining them, attempting to discredit them," Allred added.
Some took to social media to express regret that the jury failed to convict Weinstein of predatory sexual assault based on the testimony of "The Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra.
She testified that Weinstein raped her almost 30 years ago as the prosecution sought to portray him as a career sexual predator.
"HARVEY WEINSTEIN HAS BEEN HANDCUFFED & TAKEN TO JAIL!" tweeted actress Rosie Perez, who testified on Sciorra's behalf during the trial.
"GUTTED FOR MY DEAR FRIEND #ANNABELLASCIORRA WHO TOLD THE TRUTH! YET I CONGRATULATE HER & ALL WHO CAME FORWARD FOR THEIR BRAVERY. THIS IS NOT ENOUGH BUT SURVIVORS TAKE COURAGE! THIS IS STILL A GREAT WIN!" she wrote.
"#IBelieveAnnabellaSciorra," actress Alyssa Milano wrote on Twitter.
Journalist and former Miss America Gretchen Carlson simply tweeted: "I hope the handcuffs are tight..."
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